David Cameron v Boris Johnson: Another day in the EU referendum fight

David Cameron and Boris Johnson have clashed on another day of intense day of campaigning for the EU referendum. While the PM warned that Isil terrorists would be "happy" if Britain voted for Brexit, the former London mayor discredited Mr Cameron's EU negotiations as "meaningless".

David Cameron during a speech todayCredit:
AP

David Cameron

Mr Cameron gave a "myth-busting" speech on Brexit to members of the World Economic Forum at the Mansion House.

The Prime Minister dismissed claims by the Leave camp that quitting would lead to a bonfire of regulations as "very, very weak" and insisted three million jobs were linked to membership.

Striking a deal on services from outside the EU would take longer than an agreement on goods because other countries, such as Italy, would want to gain advantage from Britain's exit, he warned.

"We may have a deficit in the sale of goods when it comes to the EU but we have a very large surplus when it comes to services and one of the things that I think we should fear is that, of course, if we left the EU they might offer us a deal on goods, but it might take a very long time before they offered a deal on services," he said.

"You can almost imagine the thrill and excitement of service businesses in Italy, France and Germany and elsewhere, saying okay, let's cut a deal with Britain on trade in goods but hold back the trade in services so we can fill all of those insurance and banking and other service industries at which Britain is so good."

Boris Johnson earlier today

Boris Johnson

Mr Johnson criticised the premier's "meaningless" negotiations, insisting it was now beyond doubt the deal was a "fiction designed to bamboozle the public".

He said: "This is the biggest stitch-up since the Bayeux Tapestry. It stinks to high heaven.

"FTSE 100 chiefs are seeing their pay packets soar while uncontrolled immigration is forcing down wages for British workers.

The letter followed a meeting between the Serco boss, who is the brother of Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Soames, and Mr Cameron days earlier.

It states: "There were two points I thought I might follow up on. The first is how to mobilise corporates to look carefully at the risks Brexit represents.

"I am working with Peter Chadlington and Stuart Rose (the head of Britain Stronger in Europe) with a view to contacting FTSE 500 companies who have annual reports due for publication before June and persuading them that they should include Brexit in the list of key risks.

"All public companies are required to set out in their annual report an analysis of key risks."

Updating MPs on the progress of the EU renegotiations on February 3, Mr Cameron said: "Let me say again that if we cannot secure these changes, I rule nothing out."

Mr Rees-Mogg said it was a "real scandal" and warned that "if Parliament was misled then historically it's led to resignations".

Jacob Rees-MoggCredit:
Nick Ansell

"It's outrageous, it's a real scandal because assuming it's true ... then Parliament was misled and if Parliament was misled then historically it's led to resignations," he told the Bruges Group in central London.

"I think to be organising the Remain camp when saying that you've ruled nothing out, not just to MPs but to the British people, is shocking and I think we need an inquiry to find out whether this was going on. We need to see emails from Downing Street.

"It is a scandal of the highest order."

Asked if Mr Cameron should resign, he added: "If the Prime Minister has misled Parliament that is fundamentally unconstitutional. We need to find out if it's true.

"If it can be proved ... of course any minister has to go. But I do still say if, I'm not calling for this."

Microsoft joins the Remain campaign

Technology giant Microsoft has backed Britain's membership of the EU in an email to its 5,000 British staff and its "partner network" of 25,000 British businesses.

Microsoft backs the Remain campaignCredit:
AFP

Michel Van der Bel, the company's UK CEO, writes in the letter that Britain would be a less attractive to invest in.

He says that the June 23 vote is a decision "for individual voters to make" but adds that Microsoft's view "is that the UK should remain in the EU."

Angela Eagle, Labour’s shadow business secretary, said: "Microsoft are just the latest employer to come out for remaining in the EU. Microsoft provide the sort of high-skill, high-pay jobs of the future that we need more of.

"A majority of employers - both big and small - recognise the importance of the UK being in the largest free market in the world.

"Britain is stronger, safer and better off in the EU. It's good for business and good for working people too."

Boris: I don't recognise the Britain Cameron describes

Boris Johnson has said he “no longer recognises” the Britain that is described by David Cameron as the referendum campaign hots up.

The former London mayor told the head of an aluminium smelter in Staffordshire: “A lot of the talk at the moment from the Remain campaign is so negative about Britain and our abilities that it is no longer country that I recognise.”

Boris: PM's claim Isil would be 'happy' about Brexit is 'a bit much'

Boris Johnson, during a visit to Stafford, told reporters he believed it was "a bit much" to suggest Isil is an ally of Leave supporters.

The prominent Vote Leave campaigner said he did not believe in getting involved in "artificial media twit storms", adding: "One might argue it's a bit much to start comparing people arguing for freedom in this country or the restoration of democracy in this country to say our allies are Putin and Daesh.

"I think that's a bit much, really."

Boris Johnson earlier todayCredit:
Rex Features

Mr Cameron had said earlier: "It is worth asking the question: Who would be happy if we left?

"Putin might be happy, I suspect al-Baghdadi might be happy.

"Our friends around the world are giving us a very clear message, they are saying 'it's all up to you, it is your sovereign choice'.

"But our friends in Australia and New Zealand and America and all around the world and all round Europe, they are saying 'it's all up to you, its all your choice, but we would like you to stay, we think it's good for us and it's good for you'."

'Almost impossible' for Britain to keep out jihadists while in EU

Penny Mordaunt, the eurosceptic defence minister, raised concerns about Britain's ability to stop Isil fighters entering Britain after being asked by The Telegraph's Ben Riley-Smith, during a central London press conference.

Penny Mordaunt, Armed Forces MinisterCredit:
Paul Grover/Telegraph

Is EU undermining our ability to tackle the migrant crisis and if so does that have knock-on consequences for our security?

"The migrant crisis, clear much of it is driven by the war in Syria. ... It is a complex system.

"I would argue that I don't think the struct the EU have added anything to the countries in Europe being able to address the situation.

"But the key point is that they are creating an additional crisis out of the migrant crisis and indeed their future ambitions to expand the EU.

"You can't deal with a crisis like the migrant crisis or consider expansion unless you give member states the tools they need to protect their own citizens. Currently we do not have that.

"We do not have full control of our borders, we have to apply different thresholds to those people coming from the EU that have documentation from the EU, even if we have deep concerns over how they actually attained that documentation. "So things like the Z case for example which mean that we can't if we have serious concerns but they're not about an immediate threat that we are on dodgy legal ground excluding that individual.

"I think there are other aspects as well. The chipping away at our ability to share information with our five-eyes partners, share information outside the European Economic Zone.

"Why is that terrific for us and terrific for Europe? Of course it's not. It is really undermining our security and again this, as in so many areas, we have the EU with the authority but none of the responsibility at all.

"It is the first duty and the responsibility of any government to protect its citizens and I as a defence minister and the security minister feels the same way, as does our human rights minister that we need more tools to do that.

"There is not just the threat now - 5,000 Daesh-trained fighters in Europe according to Europol - it's what's coming over the horizon as well.

"This vote is our last chance to say no, we want to take back that control and protect our citizens."

Penny Mordaunt, Armed Forces MinisterCredit:
Paul Grover/Telegraph

So the point is we are less able to stop those 5,000 and others coming to the country from the EU?

"Absolutely. So let me give you an example. If we have security concerns about an individual because of their connections we have to be confident that they present a serious and present threat.

"It can't just be that we have got sketchy information about somebody but serious concerns. We have to provide a higher level of proof about our concerns on that individual.

"And what we're asking our intelligence and security services to do is almost an impossible task. They do an amazing job. We know because of the foiled plots certainly that are in the public domain what a terrific job they are doing.

"But we are putting so much of a burden on them. I want to enable them to focus on fewer individuals and to do that we need to have more control at our own borders."

EU membership is leaving Britain more exposed to jihadists, Penny Mordaunt has said as she warned it is "almost impossible" for intelligence agencies to protect the country due to restrictions from Brussels.

The defence minister warned that a "higher level of proof" was needed to turn away suspected extremists from the EU at the border compared with those travelling from other countries.

PM: 'We don't buy into that eutopia dreamy stuff'

Asked about the impact on security of leaving the EU Cameron says: "You keep yourself safe not simply by having a border but by working with other countries ... I'm not saying it's the only thing that keeps us safe but it helps.

"I would say to people, who do you believe about keeping us safe? The former head of MI5, the former head of MI6 or the people in the leave campaign who do not have direct experience?"

The PM is asked what the UK brings to the EU as one person suggests most of he EU is "OK with you leaving".

'Eggs is eggs'

Someone asks the PM if the British electorate respects the EU, adding that the union must be made accountable.

Cameron says the question on the ballot paper isn't 'are you frustrated by the EU', it's about whether we should "give up and leave".

He repeats the line he often trots out at these speeches saying the EU needs to reform and that's his ambition but that it's easier to do that from the inside than being out.

The PM makes the point that "as sure as eggs is eggs" - a new one by me - that the EU would have another go at weakening the city of London if we leave but if we stay they can't do that. He adds his renegotiation has protected the City.

Cameron: I won't apologise for pointing out Brexit risks

Mr Cameron is asked by the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg whether his speeches are putting people off voting to remain.

He says it would be wrong of him not to listen to economists and make the warnings he is making, adding that he won't apologise for saying it would be bad for the UK to leave because is is a "big risk".

He says: "I think we're making a hugely positive argument... I've also been making the argument that Britain staying in a reformed EU enhances our strength and our power."

Cameron defends his EU renegotiations

David Cameron has given his Mansion House speech which ran through the nine myths put about by the Out campaign.

There wasn't much new in the speech apart from a warning that Vote Leave's argument that the UK should aim for a seat on the WTO as a new model of EU cooperation is "chilling".

He's now answering questions, first up is Sir Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of WPP, who asks about immigration and sovereignty. He says the PM has already "won the argument" on the economy, hinting that perhaps he should tackle other concerns.

David CameronCredit:
Valentina Petrova

In response Mr Cameron says: "To me, sovereignty is about the ability to get things done ... If we leave he single market as the leave campaigners now want to do ... You actually become less sovereign.

"Clearly any immigration from outside the EU is a sovereign issue for the UK.

"We need to be very frank with people and say look, the single market it about goods and services but it also does involve the ability of British people to go and work in other countries and he ability of other EU nationals to come and work here.

"I think the thing that most aggravated people was that people can come and get out of the system before they get out."

He adds that his renegotiation changed that and guaranteed that people must pay in first.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has suggested that David Cameron's EU deal was the "biggest stitch up since the Bayeux Tapestry".

It yesterday emerged that David Cameron was in talks about enlisting the support of one of Britain's biggest companies to make the case for the nation to stay in the EU before he secured his deal with Brussels.

Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street todayCredit:
SWNS

Mr Johnson said: "This is the biggest stitch up since the Bayeux Tapestry. It stinks to high heaven. FTSE 100 chiefs are seeing their pay packets soar while uncontrolled immigration is forcing down wages for British workers.

"Now we learn that some fat cats have been secretly agreeing to campaign for remain while angling for lavish Government contracts. It makes us look like a banana republic.

The Bayeux TapestryCredit:
Telegraph

"And it is also now beyond doubt that the so called renegotiation was a fiction designed to bamboozle the public. It was a meaningless mime, a ritual, a kabuki drama in which the outcome was utterly preordained. This is not the far-reaching and fundamental reform we were promised."

Cameron's major speech to business leaders

David Cameron is speaking to an audience of business leaders at Mansion House about why he wants Britain to remain a member of the European Union. He is dispelling what he calls "myths" about the EU to show that Britain's jobs are safer by remaining and trade will be stronger.

Cameron's reform 'not even close' to giving us the EU we want

Energy minister Andrea Leadsom has used a speech this morning to say that the EU reforms offered to David Cameron are "not even close" to bringing about the sort of changes needed to make the Europe project work better.

Andrea LeadsomCredit:
Telegraph

"I am a huge supporter of David Cameron and I genuinely have nothing but praise for his effort at convincing other EU leaders to accept the need for reform.

But did we get anything like the sort of reform that would make the EU work better? No. Not even close. And worse, even with the certainty of a UK referendum following the negotiation, it is clear that there was no appetite amongst European leaders for anything more than a few minor concessions.

So imagine the disappointment of so many MPs at the choice that now lay before us - accept a largely unreformed EU, where we have no control over the knock on effects of Eurozone integration and the EU migration crisis.

Or choose the route of freedom and democracy in the certain knowledge of an almighty battle ahead with an 'Establishment' who would stop at nothing to frighten voters into submission.

I truly believe the UK's best days lie ahead of us as an independent, free trading, globally competitive nation."

Pace of immigration into Europe 'a serious issue'

Major General Tim Cross - senior British officer in the Coalition Provisional Authority following the 2003 Iraq war - has warned that the "scale and pace" of immigration into Europe has become "an increasingly serious issue".

"It is surely undeniable that the scale and pace of immigration into Europe over the last few years has become an increasingly serious issue; and that it will continue to be so in the years ahead. Self-evidently the way we respond to the migration numbers needs compassion set alongside control, with an acknowledgment of a genuine need to protect the receiving societies and communities. If we fail to apply asylum rules robustly whilst humanely refusing entry or deporting those who do not qualify then the backlash against immigration will only get worse.

At its heart our dilemma is how we balance British ‘values’ and ‘interests’ and how best we, the UK, can maintain some sort of control over our destiny. We also need to be clear as to whether or not our values and interests are the same as other European countries – countries like Germany, for example, which has a serious demographic problem. Their falling population, with large parts of the old East Germany relatively empty, stands in stark contrast to the heavily populated south of the UK.

The EU’s response so far has been reactive and divided, driven mostly by emotion - as epitomised by Chancellor Merkel’s confused and high handed actions, both initially and then subsequently in the discussions with Turkey. Trying to solve the problem of mass migration by agreeing to allow visa free access to Turkey is indeed, as Dearlove notes, perverse.

We also need to manage the emerging threats. It is clearly difficult to know the actual numbers but it has been estimated that for every 1000 migrants entering Europe illegally there are 2 extreme Jihadi’s amongst them - which means that several thousand IS fighters have probably entered Europe over the last year or so. It is worth remembering that at the height of the ‘Troubles’ in N Ireland the hard, inner core of terrorists was never more than a few hundred strong. The idea that the phones will stop ringing in our security agencies and police headquarters if we should have the temerity to vote to leave the EU is plainly ridiculous – it will be in everyone’s interests to ensure that co-operation across the EU will continue to thrive.

All choices carry consequences - and the choice on June 23 may not be an easy one. But ducking the issue, taking the easy way out, or deciding not to decide is simply not valid. The key question is will the UK be able to maintain control of its interests – including its borders – inside or outside of an EU that is failing its people on far too many issues – including immigration. And my answer is that we are better out."

Major General Tim Crosswas senior British officer in the Coalition Provisional Authority following the 2003 Iraq war.

McDonnell: I'm fine with Ed Ball sharing a platform with George Osborne

Asked how he felt seeing his predecessor Ed Balls stood next to George Osborne yesterday, Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell says: "Ed phoned me the night before and I said by all means go ahead."

George Osborne and Vince Cable watch on as Ed Balls speaksCredit:
PA

He says Mr Balls was prepared to stand next to "sworn enemies" and that he supports people campaigning in any way they choose.

Farage suggests a second EU referendum could happen

Nigel Farage claimed earlier that there could be a re-run of the EU referendum should the result be narrow victory for Remain.

Nigel FarageCredit:
PA

But Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has hit back, saying: "We don't want Neverendum. This issue is too important to give people like Nigel Farage as many goes as they want until they get the result they want.

"This is a shows that the Brexit camp are getting desperate and can see they are falling behind.

"The UKIP leader regularly accuses the EU of not listening to the democratic will of countries. So maybe, just maybe he should live up to his own words for once, and listen to the choice of the British people."

Tusk condemns Boris over Hitler remarks

It is the first time we have heard remarks like this from Mr Tusk, a steely figure from Gdansk who prides himself on having a thick skin and tolerating free speech.

Mr Tusk said: "It is the question of the very essence of the Union which is being asked increasingly, more often, on the continent.

"Everyone in every country has the right to organise referendums and ask the hardest of questions.

Donald Tusk, President of the European CouncilCredit:
LAURENT DUBRULE

"We, the advocates of the EU, also have the right and the obligation even to defend our vision of Europe.

"To defend does not meant to lecture anyone, and the British citizens will make this decision themselves. They do not need any whisperers, especially from Brussels. I know this very well. "But when I hear the EU being compared to the plans and projects of Adolf Hitler I cannot remain silent. Such absurd arguments should be completely ignored if they had not been formulated by one of the most influential politicians of the ruling party.

Boris JohnsonCredit:
Andrew Parsons / i-Images

"Boris Johnson crossed the boundaries of rational discourse, demonstrating political amnesia. "In some sense, he illustrated a state of mind and emotions of many Europeans, not only in the UK. "However, in no way can this be an excuse for this dangerous blackout.

"The EU can be blamed for many things, but it remains the most effective firewall

against the ever dangerous and tragic conflicts among the nations of Europe.

"Today we have to remind ourselves of this banal and perhaps boring truth.

"The only alternative for the union is political chaos, the return to national egotism, and the return to the triumph of antidemocratic tendencies that can lead to history repeating itself. "I'm convinced that the EU is our common tool to solve problem. A common tool, not a superstate."

Donald Tusk attacks Boris Johnson's Hitler comparison

Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, has launched an attack on Boris Johnson after the former London mayor compared the EU with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's plans for domination of the continent.

He tweeted that he "cannot stay silent" and that it was "political amnesia" to make such a comparison.

When EU compared to plans and projects of Adolf Hitler I cannot remain silent. Demonstrates political amnesia pic.twitter.com/LU4wxNbvd4

McDonnell sets out positive case for EU membership

Laura Hughes is at John McDonnell's EU speech this morning - and has just filed this quick take.

John McDonnell is speaking at the TUC in central London making the "positive case" for why Britain should remain in the EU.

He kick is off by pointing out that the trade union movement spread across Europe long before the EU was invented.

The Shadow Chancellor tells the audience that the debate so far has been negative on both sides and brought out the worst of Westminster politics.

John McDonnell, the Shadow ChancellorCredit:
Reuters

He says he wants to "rescue" the debate and challenge the "project fear coming out of all sides of the Tory Party."

"It's not the EU, it's the Tories," he says. He warns that leaving the EU could result in cuts to services, but on a more positive note he says the EU protects workers rights and helps tackle climate change.

He says the EU must protect freedom of movement and the rights of people to work across the continent. "I think this is absolutely critical", he says.

Mr McDonnell hits out at the "anti-migrant rubbish", adding: "The stress in our school is due to Tory austerity and it's not the fault of migrants that we have a housing crisis. Our country needs immigration as most contribute more than they take."

McDonnell: It might surprise you, but I'm pro-EU

John McDonnell, who is setting out the case for Britain to remain in the EU, has said it will "surprise" his critics that he so positively in favour of staying in.

"I know for some people hearing me making the positive case to Remain it will come as a surprise and some will say ‘my heart is not really in it’," the Shadow Chancellor said.

John McDonnellCredit:
REX/Shutterstock

"I will be voting to Remain on June 23. To show how serious I am I will even be campaigning with Peter Mandelson later today, but I draw a line at sharing a platform with Tories."

He warned Labour voters that opting for Brexit would come with worrying risks for the economy and this would result in "the likelihood of more Tory cuts to come", adding: "Instead of the politics of fear, we need to offer Labour’s politics of hope."

Mr McDonnell said: "George Osborne has already created a £4.8billion black hole in the budget. It is a recovery built on sand.

"It will be a Tory government still in power the day after the referendum."

Farage: Narrow Remain victory would cause 'resentment' for Tories

Nigel Farage has said a narrow victory for the remain campaign in the EU referendum would cause "resentment" in sections of the Conservative Party.

The Ukip leader tried to play down claims he will campaign for a second vote if there is a close result at the polls next month, insisting he felt Britain would still opt to leave the EU.

His comments come after he was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying a tight vote to stay in Europe would leave "unfinished business".

Nigel Farage and David Cameron will appear on the same EU referendum programme to set out their case

He told BBC Breakfast: "I believe we're going to win this referendum, why? Because there's far more passion on the leave side of the argument.

"Leave voters are much more likely on June 23 to go down to their local primary school and vote, so I think we are going to win.

"If we were to lose narrowly, then what I can see is a large section - particularly in the Conservative Party - who feel the Prime Minister is not playing fair, that the remain side is using way more money than the leave side and there would be a resentment that will build up if that were to be the result."

Mr Farage is scheduled to appear opposite David Cameron on an ITV debate ahead of the vote next month, a decision which was condemned by the Vote Leave camp as a "stitch up".

Turkey joining EU like 'storing gasoline next to the fire'

Turkey joining the European Union (EU) would make Europe "more secure", the country's former ambassador to Nato has insisted as he hit back against claims from an ex-spy chief.

Britain's former MI6 boss Sir Richard Dearlove said giving visa-free access to the EU to millions of people in Turkey would be like "storing gasoline next to the fire" in relation to the migration crisis.

But Onur Oymen has warned the EU must do more to cooperate with Turkey to tackle the threat of terrorism, as he described Sir Richard's comments as "quite unfortunate".

Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI5Credit:
Martin Pope

Visa-free travel to Europe's Schengen area, of which the UK is not a part, was one of the concessions offered to Ankara in return for Turkey agreeing to take back migrants arriving from its shores into the EU.

He told the Today programme: "I fear that he is right that the European Union is harming European security and prosperity and this is now fuelling very unpleasant extreme politics.

"He draws attention to the way that the EU is not responding well to a mass migration crisis.

"When you combine that with the crisis in the Euro area with mass unemployment you then produce these extreme right groupings and you see the EU alternating between being generous and then being extremely clumsy and authoritarian, now talking about putting up border towers and walls and fences along the Turkish border with the Middle East because they are so nervous about the impact of the changes on the European Union itself."

But Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece, a Liberal Democrat peer who sits on the all-party parliamentary group for Turkey, labelled the language used by the former spy master as "incendiary".

She said: "I think we need to move away from the fact that Turkey is somehow a threat.

"Turkey has been containing the Syrian refugees, three million of them in Turkey, so it's actually been helping the European Union by acting as a de facto border."

51 per cent back Remain in latest poll

Sir Lynton Crosby, the strategist behind the Conservative election victory, says the Leave campaign should stop arguing over television debates and step up its efforts to reach voters.

Time may be running out for the Leave camp to make the case for Brexit as the Remain campaign’s position is consolidating and the electorate becoming more polarised over Britain’s membership of the European Union.

With just over a month to go, the sharp end approaches and greater cut-through is needed.

This week’s ORB poll reveals an increase in public support for Remain countered by an almost proportional fall in support for Leave.

Among all respondents, 55 per cent now say they support Remain – an increase of 4 points since the previous ORB poll in April – and 40 per cent back Leave – a 3-point decrease.

However, the slightly better news for Leave is this underlying figure does not paint the whole picture. As identified from previous ORB polls, turnout continues to be a major issue for the Remain campaign.

More than half (56 per cent) of all respondents say they will definitely vote come referendum day, including 53 per cent of Remain voters and 62 per cent of Leave voters.

Considering only those who say they will definitely vote, Remain’s vote share holds steady from last month at 51 per cent while Leave dips by a single point to 45 per cent (well within margin of error).

The contrast between the population as a whole, where Remain has a strong lead, and only those who are most likely to vote where Remain has a steady if unspectacular lead, shows that if the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign does not have a sufficiently strong grassroots network to get people to the polls, many voters could wake up to a surprise on June 24.

'EU hampers tax avoidance crackdown'

The Vote Leave battle bus tour will continue in the Midlands today, with Boris Johnson and Gisela Stuart, chairman of Vote Leave, attempting to switch the focus on to their campaign's belief that the EU is hampering efforts to tackle tax avoidance.

It is relying on estimates from a 2011 Government document to suggest reforms to rules related to foreign subsidiaries of British companies, following a European Court ruling in 2006, have reduced corporate tax revenues by £2.36 billion since 2012.

The Leave camp has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of the diverted profits tax, which was introduced in 2015 to impose levies at a higher rate on sums believed to have been shielded from corporation tax.

Ms Stuart said: "The EU's rulings have helped multinational businesses to avoid paying billions in taxes here in the UK.

"That's money that could be invested in our NHS.

"The best way to stop big businesses from avoiding tax is to Vote Leave so we can take back control and reintroduce a fair system that works for the British taxpayer not big business."

Boris faces second day of Hitler questions

Boris Johnson yesterday faces a second day in which questions and concerns were raised over his comparison of the EU with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's plans for domination of the continent.

On the Hitler remarks, Mr Johnson was pressed to say whether he would make them again if he knew the controversy it would cause.

He noted: "Previous attempts to unify Europe have been done by force and have ended tragically. There are various historical illustrations of that point, which need no elaboration.

Boris Johnson compared the EU with Hitler

"What the Roman Empire had and the EU doesn't have is a single pole of authority that everyone understood and recognised and felt an allegiance to. That was the crucial point.

"Under the Roman Empire, people felt Roman. Under this European system, nobody actually feels European - some people might do, but very few people do, and that is the core of the problem."

Mr Johnson also blamed EU regulations for benefiting a minority of businesses who can deal with policy makers while freezing out others, adding the increasing gap between the pay packets of FTSE 100 chief executives and lower-paid staff is "nauseating".

The former London mayor bemoaned the "colossal, glutinous tide of nonsense" from Remain as the campaigns continued to belittle and discredit the increasingly frenetic warnings they have issued ahead of next month's referendum.

Mr Johnson's remarks came as Vote Leave attempted to move attention onto concerns over the ability of the UK to deal with tax avoidance while Britain remains in the EU.

They claim the NHS and other services have been denied investment as EU rulings have helped multinational businesses "avoid paying billions" in taxes in the UK.